Thanks to its beloved license plate slogan, New Mexico will forever be known as the “Land of Enchantment.” And, for tour groups, there is much magic to discover within its borders.
A place of spectacular natural beauty, New Mexico also boasts a vibrant history that includes ancient Indigenous American settlements and colonization by the Spanish. But faith-based groups may want to focus their time there exploring another of the state’s offerings: its legendary arts scene. From traditional tribal pottery to the renowned paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe, New Mexico is filled with inspiring work bursting with God-given creativity and ability.
This itinerary hits Northern New Mexico’s art highlights, beginning in Albuquerque, where groups can fly into the state’s largest airport. It then continues west to historic Gallup before crossing back east to the capital of Santa Fe. After a stop in tiny Abiquiú, groups will end their time in Taos, which offers a regional airport. Leaders will want to budget six nights (or more) for this trip so their groups can take full advantage of the most uplifting and enlightening art experiences New Mexico has to offer.
Pueblo Art Through the Ages in Albuquerque
Offering a wonderful introduction to the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico, Albuquerque’s Indian Pueblo Cultural Center provides the ideal introduction to the culture of the state’s Native American peoples. There’s so much to see and do that leaders will want to set aside a half-day for their groups to explore it. Group visitors can start with an in-depth tour of the center’s museum. It features the permanent exhibit We Are of This Place: The Pueblo Story, filled with historic artwork, as well as temporary exhibits that have showcased subjects like Indigenous fashion and architecture. Tours include a visit to Artists Circle Gallery, boasting contemporary Pueblo art.
There’s also an on-site store chock-full of stunning Pueblo and Southwest Native American art. The center’s popular cultural dance program, which presents traditional dances celebrating the seasons and honoring the Creator, is offered on weekends throughout the year and by special arrangement during the week. If a group wants to get their hands dirty, the center can handle that, too, with a pottery class taught by a Pueblo artist.
While You’re Here: Faith-based travelers will not want to miss Albuquerque’s beautiful San Felipe de Neri Church, built of adobe in 1793. The parish, which also includes a convent, school, gift shop and museum, offers tours. Afterward, groups will appreciate time on their own to wander the surrounding Old Town, filled with galleries and boutiques.
Gallup’s Contemporary and New Deal Art
After departing New Mexico’s biggest city, this itinerary takes groups two hours northwest to Gallup. For a small city of about 22,000 people, it’s bursting with engaging art, much of it fostered by the nonprofit arts council, GallupARTS, and its Art123 Gallery. Dedicated to displaying the work of local artists, the gallery’s exhibits run the gamut of disciplines, from jewelry to sculpture, photography and abstract paintings. Leaders can arrange a guided visit and/or an artist talk for their groups.
Smaller groups of up to 21 people can enjoy a paint and sip class at Art123, while larger ones can take a New Deal art tour with GallupARTS. Instituted by President Roosevelt’s administration as a response to the Great Depression, New Deal federal relief programs included a wide range of public art initiatives. Gallup is home to more than 120 New Deal works spread across several locations, including Octavia Fellin Public Library and the Spanish Pueblo Revival-style McKinley County Courthouse. Built in 1938 and itself a New Deal project, the courthouse houses New Deal tile and tin work, furniture, paintings and a 2,000-square-foot Southwest history mural that lines the walls of the courtroom.
While You’re Here: Speaking of murals, Gallup is home to two dozen in the downtown area alone, some within a stone’s throw of Art123. They colorfully depict scenes of Native American culture, mining, the rodeo and more, with interactive online maps providing all the info needed for a great self-guided group tour.
Santa Fe’s Bespoke Art Walks
In a state blessed with remarkable art at every turn, Santa Fe — a three-hour drive east from Gallup — is New Mexico’s undisputed champ of creativity. Santa Fe Art Tours specializes in arts-themed walking excursions that include a quick primer on interpreting art. And guides can customize itineraries to include visits to important faith-based sites, like Loretto Chapel, famed for its “miraculous” unsupported spiral staircase, and San Miguel Chapel, the country’s oldest church.
Leaders may want to request a stop at the Nuevo Mexicano Heritage Arts Museum, where travelers can explore the links between Spanish Colonial art and belief. Santa Fe Art Tours can even coordinate a studio visit with a contemporary santero, a person who makes religious images. But no matter where groups go, they can expect a personal experience, thanks to the relationships Santa Fe Art Tours has developed with the art community. Those relationships also add value to the company’s tour of the city’s celebrated Canyon Road, which boasts more than 80 galleries in a half-mile stretch. Tours stop at about half a dozen galleries, where owners and artists will likely share a story or two about the artwork.
While You’re Here: Santa Fe Art Tours can arrange a hands-on art experience for groups, or leaders can reach out directly to Paseo Pottery. They host motorcoach visitors for all kinds of activities, like painted pottery sessions, wheel-throwing classes and other workshops.
A Thousand Years of Architecture in Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo is not only a National Historic Landmark, but also a UNESCO World Heritage Site — and a must-see for any group visiting Northern New Mexico. Continually inhabited for more than 1,000 years, the adobe structures there were built in stories and side-by-side, sharing walls but not doorways. In fact, the homes originally had no doors or windows at all, and access was gained by climbing down ladders into the dwellings. Still passed down from eldest son to eldest son, the homes are re-mudded every year.
Private, 45-minute group tours of the sacred, high-desert home of the Red Willow People are available year-round and touch on the pueblo’s culture and history. Leaders should leave time for groups to visit the community’s artisan shops, some owned by three generations of the same family. Leatherwork is a Taos Pueblo specialty, with pottery, sculpture and paintings also sold by artists who are usually happy to discuss their work with visitors. Throughout the year, the pueblo holds special events open to the public, including ceremonial dances, Feast Days and the weekend-long, multi-tribal Annual Taos Pueblo Pow Wow.
While You’re Here: Showcasing a century of art in Taos, the Harwood Museum of Art features Native and non-Native work, as well as a rich collection of Hispanic religious pieces. Guided group tours are available.
Abiquiú, A Place of Inspiration
A quick hour from Santa Fe, in the village of Abiquiú, perches the peaceful and meditative former home and studio of the country’s most famous female artist. Purchased by Georgia O’Keeffe in 1945 from the Catholic Church, the 5,000-square-foot compound was where she found inspiration for her iconic modernist paintings of desert landscapes. Today, it is owned by Santa Fe’s Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, which groups should also make time to visit, and hosts private tours for groups from March to November. They begin in the welcome center, which features exhibits about O’Keeffe, an introductory video, a sculpture garden and a gallery with the work of local artists.
Groups can tour O’Keeffe’s former residence, where she lived until 1984. The adobe (or mud brick) home, with some rooms dating to 1744, was expanded in the 19th century to a pueblo-style hacienda with an irrigated garden. The artist grew vegetables and herbs for her guests there and decorated the interior of her home with the bones, shells and rocks she found so fascinating that she detailed them in her paintings. Groups can expect to gain valuable insight into O’Keeffe’s artistic process and daily life at the home, but leaders should be aware that the tours are generally capped at 27 participants. However, with enough advance notice more visitors may be accommodated.
While You’re Here: O’Keeffe also owned a nearby summer house at the edge of a sprawling property called Ghost Ranch. The house is not open to the public, but there’s much to do at the ranch for groups, like taking an O’Keeffe-themed tour and visiting the on-site paleontology and anthropology museums.
